Shipwire in the News

Business Wire, November 12, 2007

Shipwire, Inc. today announced the addition of a Class A Toronto, Canada warehouse facility, extending its bid to reshape how small and growing Web merchants store, sell and ship their products worldwide. Shipwire provides assistance importing to Canada.

Shipwire’s expansion into Canada marks a breakthrough and opens up new markets for Web retailers. With one Shipwire account, merchants can place inventory in Shipwire’s existing East and West coast U.S. warehouses, and now Canada. The Achilles heels for U.S. merchants selling to Canadian customers are shipping costs and the risk of clearing customers on a per-order basis. Shipwire’s Canadian expansion empowers growing Web retailers to easily move and store wholesale and retail inventory — in bulk — within Canada. The result is faster delivery to buyers with lower shipping charges and less headaches.

To kick-off the opening of its Toronto warehouse facility and help merchants prepare for the holiday season, Shipwire is offering special deals for retailers who schedule a shipment to the Toronto warehouse by November 16, 2007. New subscribers will receive a free month of storage on space valued at up to $250 per month. Existing Shipwire customers can receive Shipwire account credits, which vary depending on whether a container or parcel is scheduled for receiving.

“International order fulfillment has, to date, been out-of-reach to small Web retailers. With Shipwire, merchants can now simply plug a domestic or international warehouse into their Web store with no long-term contracts. Shipwire’s Canadian warehouse represents a remarkable opportunity for Web wholesalers and retailers to reach new growing markets, with minimal headaches,” said Damon Schechter, founder and CEO of Shipwire, and author of Delivering the Goods: The Art of Managing Your Supply Chain (Wiley, 2002).

Merchants wanting to fulfill their Canadian customer orders “locally” can now do so in a matter of minutes through Shipwire’s easy-to-use control panel. Merchants simply log into their Shipwire account, add the new Canadian warehouse to their account, and schedule inventory for receiving in Canada. Behind the scenes, Shipwire prepares the inventory and handles warehouse coordination. Shipwire provides assistance with clearing customs and options to establish Canadian Business Registration and tax IDs. Through these features and the buying power enabled by Shipwire, small businesses can now reach a wealth of new North American markets that previously were beyond their reach.

Mark Stern, president and founder of doggypads.com and a Shipwire customer states, “The Canadian market represents a huge opportunity for our pet products; however, it has always been expensive and time consuming to ship individual orders from the U.S. to Canada and clear customs each time. Moving some of my inventory into Canada with Shipwire will help me reduce costs and make sure my customer orders are fulfilled quickly.”